


Pulling Your Punches

by orphan_account



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, F/M, Headcanon, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-03
Updated: 2012-04-14
Packaged: 2017-11-03 00:01:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/374825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sparring with Thane Krios... the more she repeated the words to herself the more Shepard realized it was a grave mistake. The superb assassin was her lover and the only people who knew his effectiveness in combat better than her were dead. But she knew he'd never hurt her, not seriously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't Pull Any Punches

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the character of Commander Shepard or Thane Krios or any other character mentioned. Nor do I own anything about the Mass Effect universe. All of it is property of BioWare.

Risa couldn’t remember the last time she’d used her hand to hand martial training. Sure she fought on the battlefield, but that was certainly different than an organized spar. The battlefield used knives maybe, but guns and fists usually. Ever since she’d returned from the hospital after the Reapers were defeated she hadn’t even been fighting as much. It was all clean up at this point and in two weeks she’d be allowed her early retirement anyway. Using her formal training was almost making her feel self-conscious. She didn’t know why she’d said yes when Thane suggested actually sparing with her to compare styles. He seemed fascinated by anything that would be referred to ask ‘monkey fighting’ and she knew that was the first red flag, the sign to back down and say no. Yet now here she was, holding a shortened metal staff, feeling absolutely insane. Shepard was confident in her ability, but she _knew_ Thane was going to kick her ass. She could only hope he’d do it nicely. He’d never hurt her, but she still hoped he’d be nice. She swore that the man could get her to say yes to anything, no matter how much it went against her better judgment. She trusted him implicitly, so times when he had to actually convince her were rare. It still didn’t help her current situation, though. 

To make matters worse the crew had mysteriously been informed; just like they were mysteriously informed by Joker that she and Thane were dating nearly a year ago. Also very much like how they were mysteriously informed about her shore leave with Thane and she ended up with Urz wearing a tutu in the CIC. She still wanted to know how they’d pulled that off. There were days when she did seriously consider some kind of discipline for Joker. 

She hopped around, trying to relax a bit while she waited for Thane to arrive. The staff twirled gracefully in her hands, becoming nothing more than a gray blur around her. Every member of the crew was watching, either in person or from a console. She didn’t need to read Turian mouth movements to know that Garrus was being a smartass about it, either. He gave his closest approximation to a smile when he caught her gaze, even waving to her. Maybe she should have taken the shot at that last bottle on the Presidium. She glared at him and he seemed amused. 

Thane stepped out of the elevator and the full realization of how screwed she was came into full view. Her concentration was already crumbling; he was wearing the red version of his old outfit. Some of the female crew was staring, Shepard wasn’t jealous, but she was going to schedule a few extra diagnostics that EDI wouldn’t be allowed to perform for them. They just needed the practice with their skills of how to debug a major system while it was running was all. He stepped in front of her, smiling pleasantly. She was going down and she knew it. He put his mouth next to her ear and she closed her eyes to avoid revealing just how unnerved she was.

“I look forward to seeing your style, Siha.” How could she get back at him?

She pressed barely closer, letting her lips brush over the sensitive exposed muscle in his jaw and neck. “I’ll show you more than style, Thane.”

A sharp inhale, it was as close as she’d get to a gasp from him. She stepped back and got into fighting position, the rules were set your opponent on their back, three rounds, nothing more and no serious injuries were allowed to happen. Thane’s position was simple and closed, not a lot of space open that couldn’t be swiftly defended. Shepard had to wonder how she looked to him. She was very skilled in silat, savate and a few other areas of mixed martial arts, mainly kickboxing and similar styles. One of her favorites was monkey fighting, though she wasn’t incredibly skilled there. In her gut she knew that there was no planning. She’d have to improvise at best with Thane.

The rules were gone over again, making sure everyone understood. The way she stood with the staff made her feel like the she was going to dance with it, which did put her at ease, that’s how she wanted to feel. A small bell rang and Thane lunged toward her quickly, she didn’t even think that she’d dodged until she was out of the way. Maybe she was overthinking. As he looked at her with a small smile she tried to forget her inner dialogue, instead she began thinking about dancing. Not Citadel dancing with horrible music, the dancing she did as a teen. When her sister was alive, with old Earth music that actually had a beat and words that she could hear and feel. She let out a deep breath and lunged at Thane this time. The staff was dropped away from the fighting floor and she switched to palm strikes that were open handed and near his chest to keep him distracted while she tried to land a few kicks. She got a good one in to his left ankle and actually knocked him down. He landed on his back and the bell rang. Shepard stood back and gasped, wide eyed as her Drell lover looked at her, clearly impressed. The way she figured, the staff clanking distracted him a bit and trying to deflect so many palm strikes with the noise and the kicks overloaded him. Either that or he went very, very easy on her. She was more inclined to believe the latter. Thane didn’t stand up so much as spring up with one fluid movement, like he’d not even been knocked down. The rest of the crew sat in stunned silence, even Garrus, but Risa knew he was also analyzing her style. 

Thane was giving her a sexy smile; did she just turn him on? His neck was flushing, oh God. They both went back to their positions. Two more rounds and Risa doubted she’d get lucky again. As Thane lunged again she ducked and caught him under the ribs, striking hard with her forearm. She turned and backed away quickly, then turned into a small flip over Thane’s back as he tried to come at her again, her back rolling against his. As her feet hit the ground he quickly landed a strong blow to her calves, knocking her flat onto her shoulder blades and nearly pushing all of the air from her lungs. She breathed deeply from her stomach, quickly recovering in time to stand again. The bell dinged again, a tie.

“Okay, Krios. Last round, let’s do this.” She’d be lying if she tried to say she wasn’t incredibly frustrated, almost angry at her landing. Though she couldn’t be sure if she blamed him or herself, she wanted to blame both. Somehow even the knowledge from before the match began that she wouldn’t win didn’t do much to soothe her annoyance. She wasn’t used to losing like this, with someone taking it easy on her.

He nodded, his gaze softening, apparently sensing her anger. A folk song came into her head, the steady rhythm playing itself over in her mind as the image of her sister danced in her thoughts. The more she thought of her sister the more she became drawn to monkey style. She may not have been very high level as far as mastery was concerned, but it was worth a shot. Her hands when lax and she began to hop around in place, Thane’s interest piqued.

He lunged at her and she slapped his hand out of the way, sending a knee into his near hip, knocking his balance off. He stumbled away from her in a rather smooth circular motion, looking stunned and almost hurt. Risa felt badly about that, but she’d apologize once the rounds were done. Her brows furrowed in her own sadness at hurting him. She hoped he’d end it soon.

“You’re going easy on me, Thane! Stop it!” She was angry, why wasn’t he going all out? If it was so easy to deflect him, he’d have been killed years ago. What was he frightened of? Why was she so angry about it? The rest of the crew was stunned. Kaidan stood next to Garrus at one of the consoles. The look on his face was stern, but neutral all at once. More like he was thinking than angry at anything. 

He nodded and stepped to her again, his movements were more fluid now. _‘Oh shit, what’d I just do?’_ She tried dodging his hits where she could, trying to keep her legs as guarded as possible. He wasn’t going easy now and he was impossibly quick, she was going to be hit soon. She ducked another hit centered for her chest and turned out of the way, twirling smoothly beneath his arm and was greeted with a forearm headed straight for her face. _‘Son of a bitch! He’s so fucking quick! How did I do this to myself? Should I just let him hit me? No, he’ll notice that.’_ Shepard bent back slightly to avoid a hit to her face and was promptly lowered to the floor by a flat palm to the diaphragm, back smacking audibly against the ground and her breath being forced from her lungs. She let out a dry scream, gasping and Thane’s eyes widened; he went down to his knees and lifted her up from the floor. He was clearly panicked.

Risa couldn’t tell how angry she was, but she regretted the sparing. She sighed as Thane held her. He hurt her, and she knew he wouldn’t forgive himself. At least not very easily or soon if he got his way. She looked into his eyes, he was going to cry once they were alone, apologizing more times than she’d have the patience to listen. “Let’s go upstairs, okay?” She said it quietly, trying to be discreet. Thane nodded and lifted her up to her feet, waiting for her to smile softly before letting go of her hand to follow her. To most of the crew Thane’s face was unreadable, but Shepard could see the hurt in his eyes, the twitches in his muscles as he tried not to frown. The crew was whispering around them as they left. The elevator ride was silent and tense with Thane praying and standing distant. 

The doors opened and Risa walked to the front of the elevator, waiting for Thane to step out before her. He entered their quarters and silently made his way to the couch, sitting down like a little kid put in time out. Risa sat down next to him, trying not to wince as her back hit the back of the couch. That would bruise badly. 

“Thane? Can we talk, please?” He wouldn’t look at her and that hurt more than her back. 

“I hurt you. I pressed a hand to your chest and forced to the ground, you couldn’t breathe. I could see the shock and the pain in your eyes. You thought I wouldn’t hurt you.” Tears were streaking their way down his scaled face and his voice, though even, betrayed his anger with himself. 

“Thane, it’s fine. I—“ 

“It’s not fine, Risa.” She winced as he used her name instead of the nickname. 

“How are you going to punish yourself Thane? It was an accident. To be honest I was acting irresponsibly, too. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like I did.” Risa put one foot up onto the edge of the couch, letting her face rest against her knee. “To be honest Thane I knew you’d win. I figured I’d be distracted with the way you moved, you know? Admiring you too much to fight, but… that wasn’t it.” 

Thane looked at her, confused. “What was it?” 

“I kept remembering my sister. She uh, she died when I was seventeen; a bomb went off right beneath her. It had been planted in our basement. I wasn’t even there when she died. If I had been I’d be dead too. I signed with the Alliance right after she died. I couldn’t save her, but I could save others. At least I hoped so. Either that or I could die and see her again. She was nine. That was twelve years ago. I didn’t expect to be thinking about her and it distracted me.” She turned to look at Thane, a pleading look in her eyes. “So you see you can’t punish yourself because I need you here to help me. Just help me, please.” Risa’s neck straightened as she began to sob. That little boy on Earth that was killed reminded her too much of her sister and she felt dull for just now realizing their connection. 

Thane picked her up and brought her into his lap, he’d had no idea. He set her head onto his chest, letting her sob against him. There was no information on a sister anywhere; it was probably something she kept to herself. That and being from Earth it was hard to track exactly from where and whom Risa came. Information that was impossible to know and she had just entrusted him with it, even after he slammed her into a floor. How did she trust him so completely? She was nearly screaming as she sobbed into his chest, it hurt for her to be like this, but he understood it. He’d lived his entire life with memories he wished he could numb. He had to, but Risa… her memories were vivid not because it was natural, but because it was traumatizing. 


	2. Soothing the Bruises

Risa woke up in her bed slowly, light sifting in between her lids as she tried to go back to sleep. She was just so tired. Muffled yelling that was quickly growing louder was waking her, though. Kaidan? She sat up and sighed, looking directly at Kaidan as he screamed at Thane. Thane just stood there quiet and still, his eyes studying the Major’s face. It took her a minute to realize what was being said.

“You slammed her down! What the hell was that? You love her and you can’t even control yourself during a spar?” Kaidan’s arms were raised in anger, he wouldn’t hit Thane, but she knew he wanted to. His face was red and his voice sounded hoarse, how long had he been screaming like that?

Risa jumped from the bed, meeting Kaidan and pushing him back. “Hey, Alenko, calm down, alright?”

“Commander he hurt you!” He looked at her in disbelief, not understanding why she was defending him. All he saw was the Thane that was calm, cool. The Thane that let him yell and only listened instead of reacting.

“He knows, Kaidan! He doesn’t need you to tell him!” Kaidan scoffed but Thane inhaled deeply and spoke.

“The one person to love me in ten years and I hit her so hard that I could have shattered bone. I could have killed her and I didn’t even realize how hard I’d hit until she was on the ground, gasping and looking up at me helplessly. I thought I had killed her until I pulled her up and she began breathing again.” He was crying again as he met Kaidan’s gaze, but his voice was still smooth, the tears were the only thing to betray his emotion. “Major Alenko, I do not look at what I did lightly. The guilt I feel is something that I will always remember, just as I will always remember the face she made as she lay on the floor. You are aware that my memory is perfect, for the rest of my life I will remember the pain she felt. Her expression will be carved into my mind like a fine gem carved into a piece of jewelry.” Thane’s jaw clenched slightly as he tried to will the memory away when it threatened to surface. “I’m glad you came here; it’s good to see that my Siha has friends who won’t hold back in her defense, even if the opposition could easily kill them. If I knew how to apologize properly I would, but I do not. Not to you. All I can do is try to make it up to Risa and hope that it is well enough for you.” Thane turned back toward the bed and sat down at the edge, turning off the music that had been playing to that point. “Thank you for coming, Major Alenko.”

Kaidan was stunned; he’d wanted Thane to be uncaring and cold. He wanted a reason to hit him and shoot him for what he did. But instead he witnessed him crying and agonizing over the fact that Shepard would have some bruises. He didn’t know Thane much; he was very quiet and reserved on the rest of the ship. Even the outburst he had with Vega weeks ago was calm, and he’d nearly torn the man’s arm off. Some members of the crew would stand around, taking guesses at when he was emoting. His expressions and voice were always so even, frigid. The only vibe he ever gave off was assassin. That display of caring and pain wasn’t something he’d expected. He seemed warm, highly emotional even. “This might sound stupid, but I didn’t realize you felt that badly about it. You’re normally so quiet; no one really knows any other side. No one but the Commander I guess.” He cleared his throat and saluted to Risa. The anger he felt before had subsided and he was beginning to feel slightly embarrassed at his behavior. “Commander.” Kaidan moved to the door and stopped. For all of his anger from before, he respected the way Thane wanted to take care of the Commander. Hell, in all the Galaxy, Thane was probably the only person more deadly than Risa in close quarters. “Thane,” he looked back, “you can call me Kaidan.” He turned and walked out into the elevator. 

Risa looked at Thane as he sat on the edge of the bed. She sighed and crawled into bed with him, pulling him down to the mattress with her. She knew he felt badly about it, and Kaidan was right, she was probably the only one seeing the extent of his guilt. If he was allowed, Thane would silently carry that guilt with him for a very long time. He didn’t easily forgive himself; it was almost like he needed permission to do so. There had to be something she could do to cheer him up. To help him let go of whatever pain he thought she was in. “Thane, do you remember the first time we made love?”

Thane’s eyes unfocused and Risa could see his breath quicken with the memory, a few muscles twitching as well as his neck flushing. His eyes moved back into focus. “Yes, I can remember it, Siha.”

Risa pulled Thane on top of her; he’d been undressed for hours, his old outfit now sitting in the closet and her sparing clothes having been sent down the chute. He was dressed in boxers at that point and she was in a tank top and shorts. She kissed him and ran her hands across his back as her lips rubbed across his neck, her tongue softly lapping at the fibers of muscle. Thane’s body was reacting quickly, his breath quickening and a large, familiar bulge forming. “Tell me about the memory you have of being inside me the first time.”

His entire body froze as the memory flooded his system and took it over. “She grips my back, her hands are strong and she isn’t relenting. She wants me inside. Her eyes are dark as they stare in mine, predatory, she’s hunted me. Her skin is pale, flushing pink with blood and soft but her legs remind me once again of her strength. ‘Thane, take me.’ Her voice is so deep that it hardly sounds like her. I grip myself in one hand and she helps me find my place. All of her warmth that clung to my muscles before is condensed inside her. It’s hot and I feel myself tremble, she feels perfect.” Thane took a deep breath, shuddering as Risa drug her nails against his abdomen once he was back in the present. He looked at her, slightly confused but not uncomfortable. His secondary eyelids blinked and he couldn’t help it as his mouth made its way to her jaw to kiss lightly.

“I know you’ll always remember these next words, Thane. Think about them whenever you feel guilty about something.” Risa made sure to gently push his head up so she could look into his eyes as she stroked up and down his ribs with one hand, the other tracing the curves of his skull. He turned his head to embrace her touch with a soft kiss, and then looked back to her, listening intently. “I love you, Thane Krios, more than I thought I could love another person, really. You aren’t guilty of a damned thing, despite what anyone says. When I look at you my heart skips, there were times when I was younger where I’ve felt like miracles were all that kept me alive. I found you and I truly began to believe that someone thought I was worthy of at least one more. When you were so close to death I could feel myself slipping away, most of me dying alongside you. Then I was given a cure for Kepral’s. So, Thane, the message is this: obviously no matter what you may have done, the Gods still believe you deserve happiness and comfort in this life. I don’t know what they think of me but I do thank them and anyone else responsible that I can be the one to give you a smile.” Risa’s eyes filled with tears and as she blinked them away she could feel Thane’s tears hitting her face.

“Siha… I don’t know what I did to deserve such sweet words from your tongue,” Thane nipped at her earlobe and delighted in her shiver, “but I will try the best I can to keep them alive in my mind, always.” Thane pressed his mouth to Shepard’s, kissing her with force as he ground himself into her. She made a noise into the kiss, her hips going up to meet his. The soft skin of her legs was also rubbing against his scales, her toes gently stroking his calves. One of the uniquely Risa traits that she’d made him promise not to share was the way her toes would wiggle when she became aroused by him.

In the beginning of their relationship Thane had been careful about learning boundaries, trying to be respectful while still being intimate. It wasn’t until Risa sat him down and told him not to worry about boundaries that he really began to let his guard down. He’d spent an entire lifetime keeping himself protected from almost everyone that even once he admitted his love for Risa he needed to keep distance. It had been a very long time since anyone made him feel safe, but he was learning to accept it. 

He loved the way she would move against his body as he pushed against her, it seemed like her shape was made to lock into his. With every shift of his hips she was right there to apply pressure back onto him, always managing to hit the most sensitive areas. Risa pushed him up to his knees and removed her tank top, her breasts being freed to his sight. He reached out and gripped one gently, massaging it in his palm and with his fingers. While they had taken some getting used to he’d learned to love the way they felt in his hands, the softest part of her body, aside from her lips. What he loved more than their feel was the soft moans he would get when he teased a nipple. He watched as Risa fell back onto the mattress, her breasts shifting and moving with her. His lips seemed to lead him down to her collar bone as his hands and her feet worked his boxers off. Then he damn near ripped Risa’s panties from her body. Something about what she’d just told him gave him a newfound sense of urgency. He worked his way around her neck, relishing the small whimpers and gasps as he licked her pulse. Sucking on the skin of her chest and neck was something he thoroughly enjoyed, not only for her reaction, but for the darkened patches of skin it left behind. Hickies, she called them. She explained that they were viewed as a sort of taboo, that it was a sign of possession to some people. That had worried him, but she told him not to, _‘let people talk,’_ she’d said, _‘they’re going to no matter what.’_ He pulled back and Risa whimpered in protest this time.

“Thane?” She looked worried, her brow creasing.

In the almost two months since he’d been cured Thane had only been able to think of Risa and of what he wanted to do once it was all said and done. He still wanted to visit a desert, but he only wanted to do so if she’d be with him. Then the realization hit him, anything he thought about for his future, he only wanted to do if he could have Risa with him. He took a deep breath and tried to steady his thoughts. He’d have worried about offending her somehow with what he was going to say next, but he knew her better than that. For some reason she didn’t seem to care what Thane said, she always listened and always tried to understand, even if she couldn’t very easily wrap her mind around it. His entire past, Irikah and Kolyat, everything. She just listened, never saying a word to anyone else about it. She was his only confidante and his only love.

“Risa, I always have you in my thoughts and in my heart. I must ask you, how sober are you right now? I know the effect my kiss has on you.” He grabbed her hand when she put it to his face, kissing the palm gently. She was so warm.

“I’m fine, Thane, not even dizzy, really. Why, is everything alright?”

Thane smiled, this was perfect. “Yes, everything is fine. I need you ask you something, though.” Risa’s head tilted, she looked at him expectantly. Her eyes were so full of life and emotion; he couldn’t understand how anyone could find her hard to read. Maybe it was his pleasure alone to be able to be allowed this close, where secrets couldn’t be kept. He rolled away from her and sat up straight, pushing himself against the wall at the head of the bed. With gentle hands he grabbed Risa and pulled her sideways into his lap. She looked very curious at this point. Thane sat for a moment silently, committing every feeling and look of this moment to his very detailed memory. Right down to the only sounds in the room being their breathing. He could feel her thighs on top of his, molding to his muscle as she sat in his lap and against his member as it stood against her skin. Everywhere her skin touched wasn’t just warm right now; with him being nervous she seemed to catch him on fire.

“Thane, why are you nervous?” When others had a hard time reading his emotions and expressions, she picked up on what everything was. When others couldn’t see what he felt she was able to seemingly read his mind.

“Siha, before I met you I was resigned to death, I was resigned to what I felt like was a life of failure. Then you came to Illium and found me. You helped me find Kolyat. You brought me to the Collector base and together with everyone else we brought it down. You then went on to save the galaxy from death and I was so grateful to be there with you. I could only hope that we’d live to see the other side again, like before.” Thane brushed a stray piece of brown hair from in front of Risa’s vibrant green eyes. “I love you, Siha. For the first time in ten years I found someone to trust, someone to love and support. Someone who would do the same for me in return.” Risa smiled and blushed softly; Thane loved the pinkish tinge her skin would take when she was flattered. “This is why I want to ask you something. To this point I’ve been devoted to you and have not had any other lovers and I know you’ve been the same way.” He picked up one of her hands and held it in his; it was smaller than his, but just as strong. “You said over dinner once that you could happily live with me for the rest of your life. Now that I know we’ll both have that, I want to ask you if you still feel the same. If you’d be willing to marry me.”

Risa’s eyes widened, her breath hitched and her chest hurt. She felt like she was having a heart attack. Thane was always loving and always spoke to her about how grateful he was. She hadn’t expected him to actually ask her to marry him. She didn’t even know if that was a Drell custom. Her eyes filled with tears and she smiled. “Thane, I…” She tried to breathe and calm down enough to speak. She wanted him to remember her words clearly, without them being distorted by her sobs, even if it was in joy. “Thane, before I respond, I just want to tell you that having you here is what made me keep fighting. What made me see the worth when the nightmares threatened to take my sanity and my hope. You woke me up; you helped me see that there was good in the galaxy and in people. That… religion could be beautiful and poetic and that a person’s soul could dance behind their eyes. Before you I had never imagined settling down, everything seemed like one big fight after another.” Risa smiled and took one last, deep breath, Thane smiled softly to her as she rested in his arms and on his legs. “So with that in mind, yes, of course I will marry you, Thane Krios. It will be wonderful to be known as something other than Shepard now that this is done.” 

She laughed softly, this was happening. Though she had never considered herself a romantic, and what she said did sound a little too poetic for her personality, she couldn’t remember being happier to be alive. Thane kissed her and began to move their bodies, putting her head at the foot of the bed, his own body stretched above hers. His lips kept connected to hers, her moan being swallowed by their kiss as he entered her. It used to be difficult to enter her quickly, but now it was something that he could do almost without thinking. He put his hands at her hips and steadied her body as he moved within her, his soon to be wife. Gods that felt good to think about. Risa’s legs wrapped around him and her arms draped themselves across his shoulders. Her tongue was moving against his, massaging and rubbing roughly. His arms moved up and embraced her body, holding her even closer to him as he slowed down. This needed to be drawn out as long as possible, cherished. His thrusts were slow and measured and when their lips finally parted, Shepard moaned his name, her head falling back over the edge of the bed. He couldn’t stop kissing her and his mouth found her neck and the swell of her breasts next. He rubbed his face across them as reveled in her skin; they were cooler than the rest of her body and seemed to shake even more with his thrusts. Despite his best attempts at patience, at making this moment last in his celebration, her body was too irresistible and too addicting to the touch. His thrusts became faster and Risa began to move her hips in time, making them harder as well. She would grunt each time he filled her completely, and Thane was grateful that her breath was so clear in the air around them. 

Her soft cries spurred him on, as did her legs opening wider, she was getting close to climax. His hands went back to her hips and he held her still, beginning to slam into her, his own muscles shaking with the effort. As Thane looked into her eyes, her breath held and her pupils dilated, her mouth opened slightly and blue biotic energy began floating from her skin and in a split second afterward she was arching into him, squeezing him as he moved inside. She screamed his name at an almost painful volume, her nails digging into his shoulders while the blue jolts of energy fanned away from her in what looked like a small explosion, causing the sheets to flutter around them. His body wouldn’t stop moving and with two last slamming thrusts he finished inside of her, a low grunt and more sounds she could barely hear rumbling in his chest and throat. Thane had to catch himself with one arm, his own biotic energy becoming apparent, looking down and watching with rapt attention as her body shivered and heaved.

She pulled him down, giggling and kissed him, their smiles mirroring each other. Risa spoke against his lips as he kept kissing her softly. “Thane, that was the best I’ve ever felt. Thank you.” A dazed smile pulled at her lips.

His mouth moved to her ear and made a low rumble with the membranes in his throat, chuckling within it as she laughed softly at the vibrations shaking against her chest. She couldn’t hear it, but he was glad she felt it. “Thank you for letting me, Siha.”

Thane looked down at the woman below him, this stunning and larger-than-life-person, her smile so purely joyful that nothing else could form in his mind. All he cared to see was the pale, beige face with pink lips below him. He smiled down to her in return, he had his life back and not only did he have it back but he had a reason to enjoy it. To treasure it and to want to protect it.

It had been decades since he’d found a purpose so pure, and he knew this time would be different than the last. He would remain awake for the rest of his life, eternally grateful for a warrior angel who brought him back from death.


End file.
